Things were going great for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year candidate Timothy Peters one third of the way through Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Peters’ No. 4 Bailey’s Dodge was handling flawlessly; he had great track position, and he was running strongly inside the top-ten. To sum it up, Peters appeared to be on his way to his best career NCTS finish until fellow competitor Robert Pressley became the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” Pressley initiated contact with Peters’ right rear corner panel turning him hard into the concrete retaining wall just past the start-finish line on lap 54. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, all that was left for Peters under the tree was a less than satisfactory 33rd place finish and a bundle of hard feelings for a driver with a heart that is two sizes too small.

“We got flat run over,” a disgusted Peters said as he stared at his badly mangled Dodge. “I don’t expect anything more out of Robert Pressley. It is such a shame because we had a really good truck. The Bailey’s Dodge was hooked up. We were having one of our best runs and we were on our way to turning things around, so it is disappointing to end up like this. All the guys really worked hard on this truck. We thought about it, made some changes overnight, came back today and qualified 13th – we were on the right track until this.”   
No. 04 Bailey’s Dodge Toyota 200 Race Recap

• Peters started the race in the 13th position after a solid qualifying run on Nashville Superspeedway’s 1.33 mile oval.

• Peters weaved his way through trouble on lap 2 when Deborah Renshaw, Ricky Craven and Matt Crafton tangled in the middle of turns three and four.

• Peters was able to work his Bailey’s Dodge into the top 10 by lap 5.

• When NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader Dennis Setzer brought out the third caution flag of the race on lap 42, Peters radios his crew chief Randy Seals and tells him “just give me tires, don’t touch a thing.” Peters heads down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel.

• On Lap 54 Robert Pressley makes significant contact with Peters’ right rear quarter panel and sends him head on into the wall under the flag stand thus ending the Bailey’s Racing Team’s night.

David Reutimann won the Toyota Tundra 200, posting his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win.  Ted Musgrave, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner and Todd Kluever rounded out the top five. Peters is currently in the second position in the NCTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year chase behind Kluever.